What’s Good about the Gothic?

HORACE WALPOLE    1717 -1779

Several weeks ago, I concluded my unit on Romanticism with my high school seniors. Romanticism is probably my favorite literary period. I can’t pinpoint the reason why, but maybe it’s because many of the lives of Romantic poets were as impassioned and vivacious as their works. One area of Romanticism I wish I had more time to explore is the Gothic.

More its own genre now, the Gothic was originally a sub-genre of Romanticism that was partially influenced by war, the French and American revolutions, industrialization, and the economic upheaval of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England. People wanted, or even needed, to take a mental vacation from the ordinary troubles of their own lives to the extraordinary troubles of the lives of those in Gothic Literature. The first good thing about the Gothic is Horace Walpole, the father of the Gothic. I cannot speak about how much Walpole premeditated creating the Gothic genre (he probably didn’t, it just happened), but his landmark work, The Castle of Otranto, is considered to be the first Gothic novel. This novel brings up to the next good this about the Gothic: What makes something Gothic?

To explore this question, I’m going to use Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto. (So this is your formal SPOILER ALERT if you don’t want any surprises to be ruined.)

The first “test,” shall we say, to identify if something is Gothic is to determine if the main character or characters  is/are in some kind of solitude. In The Castle of Otranto there are many main characters: Prince Manfred; Princesses Hippolyta, Matilda, and Isabella; and Theodore, a peasant. Each characters is alone, or in solitude, in their own way: Manfred schemes to prevent a prophecy about his family from coming true; Princess Hippolyta is not particularly alone, however she is confined to a solitude of obedience to Manfred, who is rather cruel; Princess Matilda has to find her own way to learn about her father’s plans and how to help Isabella and Theodore; Isabella has not seen her father in may years and is, under Manfred’s care, confined to the castle where she is rather alone; and Theodore has lived much of his life alone until he comes to understand his origins and finds that he is rather connected to the Castle of Otranto and his predecessor, Prince Alfonso. In the end, solitude is a CHECK!

The second “test” is to determine if there is an element of the supernatural. In The Castle of Otranto, there are three instances that help the novel to pass the test. The first is when Prince Manfred encounters a ghost that appears out of a family portrait, leads him down a hallway, and then slams a door in his face. The second instance, which is really made up from several instances, is constituted from reports from Manfred’s domestics that report that there are enormous body parts appearing randomly throughout the castle. (These body parts have to do with the prophecy about Manfred’s family). The last instance is when Marquis Frederick encounters the animated skeleton of a hermit who helped him and his men through the forest.

Lastly, the third “test” requires there to be a large building, often in disrepair. While it is unclear if the castle in the novel is particularly in disrepair, it is definitely a large old building that fits the bill nonetheless. This final element, is thought to have its origins in Walpole’s estate, Strawberry Hill (pictured left). Strawberry Hill or Strawberry Hill House can be found in Twickenham near London, England and was built in the Gothic Revival style of architecture.  Walpole desired the house to be build in the Gothic Revival Style to create a suitable “gloometh” atmosphere for his collection of antiques.  Like Gothic architecture, Gothic Revival architecture includes decorative patterns, finials on roof and/or tower points, lancet windows, and the usage of the ever beloved pointed arch.

To recap, a Gothic novel must include a main character in some kind of solitude, an elements of the supernatural, and a large old building, often in disrepair.  With a checklist like this, I think it’s obvious why people from more than 100 years ago to today enjoy a good Gothic read: there are so many possibilities!

For your potential enjoyment, here is a list of some well know, and lesser well know, Gothic reads.

1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
6. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
7. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
8. Stoker’s Manuscript by Royce Prouty
9. The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero
10. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Look for a new post next week! See ya later!

– Snicket’s Servant